George Benson Hall Jr.

{{short description|Canadian businessman}}

{{dablink|This article refers to the businessman from Quebec. For his father, see George Benson Hall}}

{{Infobox person

| name = George Benson Hall Jr.

| birth_date = {{Birth year|1810}}

| birth_place = Amherstburg, Upper Canada

| death_date = {{death date and age|1876|09|04|1810}}

| death_place = Montmorency, Quebec, Canada

| resting_place = {{plainlist|

• Mount Hermon Cemetery,
• Sillery, Quebec, Canada}}

| spouse = Mary Jane Patterson

}}

George Benson Hall Jr. (1810 – September 4, 1876) was a businessman involved in the Quebec lumber business. On his death, the Quebec Morning Chronicle described him as "one of Quebec’s most prominent and enterprising citizens".{{cite DCB |last=Désilets|first=Andrée|title=Hall, George Benson (1810-76)|volume=10|url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/hall_george_benson_1810_76_10E.html}}

He was born in Amherstburg, Upper Canada, the son of George Benson Hall and Angelica Fortier. In 1843, he married Mary Jane Patterson, the daughter of Peter Patterson, and the couple had 10 children together.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sepaq.com/destinations/parc-chute-montmorency/a-propos/histoire.dot?language_id=1|title=History — Parc de la Chute-Montmorency|website=SEPAQ.com|author=Société des établissements de plein air du Québec|language=en-CA|access-date=2019-01-25|quote=We know very little about Mary Jane, the daughter of Peter Patterson. Her date of birth remains unknown, just like her mother’s. On the other hand, we do know that in 1843 she married George Benson Hall, a lumber merchant from Amherstburg in Upper Canada (Ontario). And it was the mysterious Mary Jane who made many changes to the estate.}} On the death of his father-in-law, he became seigneur for Beauport, the last person to hold that title.{{Cite web|url=http://www4.ville.quebec.qc.ca/toponymie_repertoire/rues/benson_hall.shtml|title=rue Benson-Hall|work=Répertoire des toponymes|publisher=Ville de Québec|language=fr-CA|access-date=2008-12-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706201625/http://www4.ville.quebec.qc.ca/toponymie_repertoire/rues/benson_hall.shtml|archive-date=2011-07-06|url-status=dead}} Hall established a milling complex at the Montmorency Falls in 1851, which eventually grew to employ members of 800 families at Beauport.{{Cite book|url=https://www.ville.quebec.qc.ca/publications/patrimoine/docs/histoire_de_raconter_bas-du-sault.pdf|title=Montmorency ou le Bas-du-Sault : Arrondissement de Beauport|last1=Légaré|first1=Denyse|last2=Labrecque|first2=Paul|date=2010|series=Histoire de raconter|publisher=Division de la culture du loisir et de la vie communautaire de l’Arrondissement de Beauport|page=7|language=fr-CA|others=Coordination : Mylene Gauthier, Caroline Thibault et Mariève Bernier, Division de la culture, du loisir et de la vie communautaire. Conception graphique : Laframboise Design|isbn=978-2-89552-069-6|access-date=2019-01-25|quote=Au plus fort de la production, l’entreprise procure du travail à environ 800 familles de Montmorency et des alentours.}} He served as an alderman for Quebec City from 1853 to 1862. Hall died at Montmorency, at the time one of the richest lumber operators in Canada. He was also known for his generosity to the under-privileged of his community.

In The storied province of Quebec, the Hall sawmills at Montmorency are described as "the greatest in the world".{{cite web|last=Wood|first=WCH|title=The storied province of Quebec|page=402|date=1931|url=http://www.ourroots.ca/e/toc.aspx?id=8820|website=OurRoots.ca|access-date=2008-12-04|archive-date=2011-06-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615035307/http://www.ourroots.ca/e/toc.aspx?id=8820|url-status=dead}}